In Ai Weiwei coverage, a couple of unexpected notes

We reported
Thursday that Chinese media reports on Ai Weiwei have reflected his ambiguous
status in Chinese law. After several days in which Ai was considered missing,
the Foreign Ministry acknowledged police were investigating him for "economic
crimes" although it stopped short of saying he was detained. Coverage within China remains very limited, although there have
been a couple of surprising, ambivalent notes about his fate.

We pointed Thursday to a Global
Times editorial published the previous day. The paper was the lone
news outlet to refer to the disappearance of this prominent artist and social
critic, though it talked vaguely of his being taken away, not detained. Even
that phrase was missing from the English translation. Bizarrely, a Xinhua state
news agency article on the case was pulled from the website an hour after
publication.

The Times published
a second editorial today. As was the case Wednesday, the English
and Chinese
versions differed. The English version struck the usual tone for most of the article,
denigrating Western media outlets and foreign diplomats for criticizing the supposed
detention. This is a struggle. The writer concedes--in the lede!--that
authorities did not announce the police investigation until Thursday, but still
chides Western media for saying Ai was "missing" or had "disappeared" in
previous reports.

Still, those who stick with the article's tortuous logic
will find an unexpected conclusion: If Ai is acquitted, (he has not yet been
charged), "authorities should learn to be more cautious and find sufficient
evidence before detaining public figures next time." Zing!

Unsurprisingly, the Chinese version omits that hint of
dissatisfaction. But ambivalence is present even there. The concluding Chinese
paragraph reads: "The Ai Weiwei case is a big deal for him personally, and
since we feel for him, we hope it won't be long before he can get through this
critical period. But from the point of view of society as a whole, we think it
can't be that big of an issue. However the Ai case concludes, China can keep
moving forward, and society will soon forget this incident ever happened."

Madeline Earp is senior researcher for CPJ’s Asia Program. She has studied Mandarin in China and Taiwan, and graduated with a master’s in East Asian studies from Harvard. Follow her on Twitter @cpjasia and Facebook @ CPJ Asia Desk.

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